On November 16, 1987, 25-year-old Kevin Burks was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered by several men, including Billy Wayne Smith. Smith, who was just six weeks away from turning 18 when he murdered Kevin, was sentenced to life with parole after 59 years. However, SB 256 has reduced his sentence to life with parole after 25 years. He now has a parole hearing scheduled for January 2022.
The details of the murder are horrific. Smith and his partners in crime had gone on the hunt for a specific black man. When they failed to locate him, they targeted Kevin, who was also black. They told Kevin that a friend was in need and lured him to his death. In a remote Brush Creek Township location, they tortured, stabbed, and shot Kevin and slit his throat.
In this letter, Kevin’s sister explains the shock and heartbreak SB 256 has caused for her family.
From Kevin’s Sister
I am the sister of Kevin Burks, who was murdered in 1987. One of Kevin’s four murderers was Billy Wayne Smith. He was a juvenile when he killed Kevin. He was sentenced to life with parole after 59 years. But because of Senate Bill 256, from the 133rd General Assembly, Smith is up for parole in January. The law needs to be amended to protect victims like me and my family.
On Monday, July 26, my family got a letter informing us that Billy Wayne Smith would have a parole hearing in January of 2022. We already knew that Kevin’s other murderer Robert Carpenter would come up for parole in July 2022. But this came as a surprise to us. Smith’s parole hearing was previously scheduled for 2051. I assumed there was a mistake and made all kinds of calls to figure out what was going on. I then found out that there had been no mistake and that the legislature had passed a law mandating earlier parole hearings for juvenile murderers.
Before I explain what Billy Wayne Smith did and why he shouldn’t be released, I will tell you about Kevin. Kevin was born on October 27, 1962. He worked as an orderly at a hospital and later at a community resource center. He loved football, cooking, music, and going to church with family. Kevin was very trusting and loyal and had a kind-hearted soul. He would give you the shirt off his back because that’s the kind of man he was. His downfall was that he was too giving. I believe that’s why he’s not here today.
On November 16, 1987, Billy Wayne Smith and his three co-defendants told Kevin that one of his friends needed help. Kevin innocently left with them. He thought he would help someone. But that’s not what happened. Smith and his co-defendants drove Kevin to the remote area where they tortured, stabbed, and shot him, and slit his throat. Billy Wayne Smith was six weeks away from his 18th birthday when he committed these crimes.
The murderers originally intended to victimize a specific black man. But when they couldn’t find him, they targeted Kevin, because he was also black.
Why would Kevin leave in the night to go with those people to help someone else? That was his character. And he suffered the consequences for it.
I was 19 when my brother was murdered. I was in my first year of college and had to take a leave of absence. While the killers were on the run, my family was scared because of the brutality of what had happened. Because we were a black family, and we knew why they had killed Kevin, we were on guard until they were apprehended.
The crime didn’t just affect Kevin, it affected everyone involved in his life. The murder took a tremendous toll on my mother and grandmother. It changed everything for us. A piece of our lives will always be missing.
Holidays are not the same. I am happy and joyful to see family who are still alive, but those days still remind me that there’s a person who is missing. Sometimes, a song will come on that makes me think of Kevin and I am again reminded of his absence. Kevin missed out on life. He never used a cell phone. He didn’t get to see me or my sister graduate from college. He never got to be married or enjoy being a father. My brother never got to be in his 50s as he would be now. These things were taken away by a cruel act by four cowards.
Billy Wayne Smith should not ever be released from prison. This would be very dangerous. With the racial divide we have now, how can we guarantee that if Billy Wayne Smith comes out of prison, he won’t come after my family? He still may have those racist feelings. I even heard that he joined the Aryan Nation while in prison. SB 256 has made me afraid for myself, my sister, and my entire family.
Releasing Smith would also be unjust. My brother didn’t get a second chance. My family didn’t get a second chance. When we go to see my brother we have to go to his grave. I can’t touch him, talk to him, or do any of that. If you take a person’s life for no reason, you should suffer consequences.
I will participate in Smith’s parole hearing this January so that my brother has a face and a voice. I cannot stand by and not represent my brother whose life was taken for no reason. And I will be there at any parole hearing. As hard as it might be, as painful as it might be, I’ll be there, until the good Lord takes me. For Kevin’s memory and for my mother’s memory.
I have been through the parole process before. It is a very stressful experience. You speak in front of a board of individuals who you don’t know and who don’t know you. You have to relive a bad memory, a raw memory, and put it on display, hoping they will hear your plea to not let this individual out. You are on pins and needles because you don’t know which way it could go or if you actually got through to the board. Hopefully, it goes in our favor but you know in the back of mind it could not.
The last parole hearing I participated in was the one for Robert Carpenter in 2013. I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t concentrate. It affected my job. I tried to go on with life while knowing I would have to relive memories of a crime that brings nothing but agony and pain. Parole hearings remind me of what I know, which is that Kevin is gone and I’m never gonna see him again. To have to go through this every five years for an individual who should be behind bars is a shame.
I would be very upset if the parole board released Smith, an individual who is known to have hatred in his heart based on the color of skin, who has no regard for life, and who could participate in something as horrendous as this crime. I would always be looking behind my back to see if he was coming for me or my family.
Billy Wayne Smith should never see the light of day. He has no moral compass or conscience. Two weeks before murdering Kevin, he stabbed another person. His young age didn’t make a difference for Kevin or my family. Smith knew exactly what he was doing. As little kids, we are taught the difference between right and wrong. The literature might say that 17-year-olds have under-developed brains, but I was 17 at some time and I sure wouldn’t have wanted to go out there and take somebody’s life. If a juvenile is tried as an adult, they should suffer adult consequences. Smith’s 59-year-to-life sentence was what the judge thought was right. And it has been undone retroactively. Now I have to get ready for the potential that Smith does get out.
People might say that I have nothing to worry about, because someone like Billy Wayne Smith won’t be released. But no one can guarantee that. The evidence should persuade the board to not let Smith out, but there is no guarantee of that. Maybe the board will have someone with a soft spot for criminals like him. Nothing is a guarantee. And even if he isn’t released, I will still know that down the road, five years from now, we will go through the same thing again–being present at the hearing and reliving facts of what took place that night. The wound will never really heal. That scab will always get reopened. Victims never will have closure for traumatic events that took place in our lives.
SB 256 has disregarded victims’ feelings. Victims are forgotten and criminals are forgiven and remembered. My brother didn’t get a second chance. And the legislature gave his killer another chance. Please consider victims and amend this law.